A second-year law student, who claims a bank clerk screamed "you have been on Crimeline" and ran off without serving him, has sued Allied Irish Bank for damages for defamation.

Darren Reid, of Lansdowne Valley, Slieve Bloom Road, Drimnagh, Dublin, told the Circuit Civil Court yesterday that Grainne Hurley had thrown her hands in the air and screamed when he approached her station.

Mr Reid also said he had never appeared on 'Crimeline'.

Ms Hurley, now an assistant manager with AIB in its Grafton Street branch, denied that such an incident had taken place and the bank has lodged a full denial.

Barrister John P Kehoe, for Mr Reid, told Circuit Court President, Mr Justice Matthew Deery, that the court would hear that another bank official had approached Mr Reid and told him if he did not leave he would call the guards.

Mr Reid said that on October 15, 2009, he had gone to the Grafton Street branch with the intention of asking the bank to desist from offering him loan facilities he did not want. He approached Ms Hurley at the customer service counter.

"She looked at me through her fingers and screamed 'I'm not serving you, you have been on Crimeline,'" Mr Reid told the court. He said she had run off and had spoken to a colleague. He said a Hugh Dunlop had approached him and told him that if he did not leave the bank he would call the guards.

Ms Hurley said Mr Reid had called to the counter with a mini-statement of his account and had spoken to her about excess charges of €49 connected with his exceeding his €450 overdraft facility.

Agitated

She told the court that Mr Reid had become loud, agitated and aggressive and she had asked him to calm down. She had stepped back to speak to Mr Dunlop who had joined them at the counter.

"Mr Reid became very angry, pointed his finger at me and said something which included the word 'slanderisation' but I cannot remember the exact statement," she said.

Ms Hurley told the court that at no stage had she spoken the words "you have been on Crimeline" to Mr Reid or that she was not serving him. She had not screamed and had not thrown her hands in the air. The case continues.